World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (March 6, 2012)

The Washington Post reported that Iran will grant UN inspectors access to a military complex where the UN nuclear agency suspects secret atomic work has been carried out, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Tuesday. Tehran had previously banned U.N. inspectors from visiting the Parchin installation, southeast of Tehran, but a statement by Iran’s permanent envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency said the visit will now be allowed in a gesture of good will. However, it would require an agreement between the two sides on a guidelines for the inspection, ISNA reported. Inspecting Parchin was a key request made by senior IAEA teams that visited Tehran in January and February. Iran rebuffed those demands at the time, as well as attempts by the nuclear agency’s team to question Iranian officials and secure other information linked to the allegations of secret weapons work.

The same information agency reported that Israel’s prime minister didn’t close ranks with President Barack Obama on how to deal with Iran’s suspect nuclear program, but he can expect a warm reception to his tough talk when he visits Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu got a preview of what to expect when Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told the pro-Israel lobby on Monday that the U.S. should use overwhelming military force against Iran if it learns Tehran has decided to build a nuclear bomb or has started to enrich uranium to weapons-grade level. “In the weeks and months ahead, Israel and the United States face a day of reckoning,” the Kentucky Republican told the America Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. “We either do what it takes to preserve the balance of power within the broader Middle East or risk a nuclear arms race across the region that’s almost certain to upend it.”

The New York Times published the article headlined “Russian Leader Orders Review of Oil Tycoon’s Conviction.” It says that President Dmitri A. Medvedev ordered Russia’s prosecutor general on Monday to verify the legality of the conviction of Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the former billionaire whose imprisonment has been widely condemned as politically motivated. The move came one day after an election that returns Vladimir V. Putin to the Russian presidency. Mr. Khodorkovsky was arrested in 2003 after publicly declaring his intention to challenge Mr. Putin in the political arena.  A statement released by the Kremlin said Mr. Medvedev had also asked the prosecutor general to review the conviction of Mr. Khodorkovsky’s former colleague, Platon Lebedev, and 30 other people. Though his prominence has waned, Mr. Khodorkovsky remains a symbol of opposition to Mr. Putin. His release from prison is among the top demands of a protest movement that arose recently as an unexpected challenge to Mr. Putin’s authority.

The Turkish information agency Hurriyet reported that Russian opposition leaders accused Vladimir Putin of changing tactics to crack down on dissent after riot police detained hundreds of protesters challenging the legitimacy of his presidential election victory. Black-helmeted police hauled away more than 500 people, including several opposition leaders, who attended unsanctioned rallies in Moscow and St Petersburg on Monday or refused to disperse at the end of a rally that had been permitted. Many including Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption blogger who has become a leading light of the protest movement, were quickly released but some faced the prospect of receiving short jail sentences on Tuesday. Witnesses said that although some protesters were hurt, and one said her arm had been broken, officers seemed intent on avoiding casualties at the main protest on Moscow's Pushkin Square, often the scene of Soviet-era dissident protests.